


Rocket's Red Glare

by bigbootyboy



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-14 03:28:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4548558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigbootyboy/pseuds/bigbootyboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Jane and Tavish met. Pre-War comic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this years ago and found it recently. Decided it was good enough to post. Here's the first chapter!

He was scoping out grenades when he saw the Soldier across the table. There was a quick moment of hope that it was his own team's, but RED's Soldier hadn't mentioned coming to the Expo, and the blue helmet was a giveaway, anyway.

Demo didn't want to start a fight, not on his weekend, and he tried to sneak away before being seen. It was too late. The Soldier glanced up and looked him up and down, frowning. He didn't say anything, though, and just looked back down to his rockets, and Demo was free to walk away.

He tried to avoid the Soldier, the rest of the day. In the afternoon, though, he bumped into somebody at a table when he shifted left. He heard something clatter to the ground.

"Are you blind?! ...Oh." He turned to see the Soldier bending down to pick up the clipboard he'd dropped, with an expression that would have been sheepish on the face of anyone but a Soldier.

"Sorry," Demo shrugged, not wanting to interact any further, still keen on avoiding a fight, especially here of all places, in a building full of explosives. He tried to walk away, but the Soldier grabbed his wrist. On instinct, Demo turned to push Soldier away.

The resulting fight was a blur. Hand to hand combat was difficult with one eye, but Demo landed enough punches to see blood down the Soldier's face. It wasn't long before they were being pried apart by other members of the crowd, and a security guard was stomping toward them.

There was a moment of dread at the prospect of being thrown into jail, but the security guard just told them to get their asses out, and Demo glared at the Soldier as he made for the door. Outside, he slumped against the wall. His Mum would be disappointed; he'd come to the Expo to find a job or two, and he'd managed to get kicked out before finding anything.

The door slammed behind him, and the Soldier stomped up to him. Demo lifted his hands.

"I don't want to end up in jail, lad. Let's save it for work."

"You forgot your brochure! I was trying to give it to you," the Soldier shoved a crumpled sheet into Demo's chest.

"...Is this why you grabbed me?"

"Affirmative."

Demo wanted to hit himself. Instead he laughed. Maybe the BLU Soldier wasn't so bad, after all. "Let's go get a drink," he offered. He was pretty sure that drinking with a BLU was against his contract, but one day couldn't hurt.

The Expo was in the outskirts of Albuquerque, and Demo knew the city enough to find a nearby bar. They talked easily, especially with the addition of alcohol, and Demo was impressed by the differences between his own team's Soldier and this one.

The RED Soldier wasn't a bad guy, but he was brash, and he wasn't the sharpest tack in the box. Even on the weekends he was strict and dominating. BLU's...Well, he wasn't smart, but he was more friendly. When the topic of Scotland came up, the BLU Soldier only ribbed him gently; there was no genuine insult or lack of trust that his team's showed.

"You think they'll let us back into the Expo tomorrow?" Demo asked, at one point.

Soldier shrugged. "Probably. Guys fight all the time. We'll just show 'em we made up."

Demo sipped at his beer, considering it. If they weren't allowed back, he and the Soldier could spend the day together. He didn't think he would mind that at all. But he _did_ have to find a job or two. He weighed the options.

"What if we left early, went out fishing instead. I've got poles in my car," Demo offered.

Soldier thought it over for a minute, before grinning. "We could do that. Did you drive down here? I hitched a ride from Sniper, I was just gonna take the train back, but..."

"I'll drive you back to base, or at least close enough that they don't catch us."

In the morning, Demo was allowed back in the Expo with no problem, and he had given his home phone number to three potential employers by the time he found the Soldier. They left together, and once they were in Demo's car, he pushed a map into the Soldier's hands.

"Find us a place to fish," he said. He started the car as the Soldier looked at the map. Demo was on the highway before Soldier seemed satisfied that he'd found a spot and started giving directions.

It took Demo fifteen minutes to figure out that they were driving in circles. The Soldier tried to get them back on the highway, but they ended up three miles west, instead. Demo pulled over and grabbed the map. Soldier pointed to a small fishing spot.

"And where are we?"

"Um," Soldier moved his finger across the map, trying to place them.

Demo sighed. He managed to find them on the map; they were miles away from even being in the right direction.

Half an hour later, Demo had found the fishing spot, but it was dried out.

Demo sat on the hard earth as Soldier wandered around, trying to find a single source of water. He finally returned, sitting next to Demo.

"This was a failure, lad," Demo sighed, laying down on the ground to look up at the desert sun.

The Soldier was quiet for a long moment, but then he spoke. "We could blow it up," he said.

Demo sat back up, grinning at the Soldier. "I like the way you think."

That evening, after Demo had dropped the Soldier off at the train station, he stopped by his house. He told his Mum about the new jobs, promising that he would be getting calls during the week. After he had sent her off to bed, he dug out his old contract with RED. He searched until he found what he was looking for:

FRIENDSHIP WITH ANY EMPLOYEE OF BUILDER'S LEAGUE UNITED (BLU) IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, BY THREAT OF VERY UNPLEASANT PUNISHMENT.

As he drove back to Gravel Pit that night, he considered whether or not it was worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

Soldier knew he shouldn't have spent the day with the RED Demoman, of course, but the Demo had been fun. He got along well with his own team's, but there was something different about RED's. Soldier liked him. After the fight, there had been an instant connection.

And, he figured, when you connect that well with someone, the fact that you're legally bound to _not_ be that person's friend shouldn't matter.

He was pretty sure that his contract with BLU was under some shady legal circumstances, anyway, so it mattered even less.

On Wednesday, Soldier captured the final control point, winning the day's battle for his team. As he descended the tower after the humiliation round, he saw the RED Demo coming out of his hiding spot in a shed, having survived the round.

Soldier's team had already dispersed, heading back for their base, and Soldier was able to catch the Demo alone. They ducked back into the shed.

Demo gave him a conflicted look, for a moment, before nodding to allow Soldier to speak.

"You wanna go see a movie this weekend?"

It looked like the Demo was going to say no, at first, but then his expression changed. "Yeah. I'd like that," he said, throwing an arm around Soldier's shoulders. "We'll meet right here Saturday."

Soldier was sad when Demo pulled away, heading back to his own base. But they had a plan to see one another again, and that was worth the wait.

 

Sneaking Soldier to Demo's car behind the RED base was a challenge. Soldier had never considered himself very sneaky, and that was more than apparent as he tried not to make a scene of jumping the fence. Demo had vetoed the idea of rocket jumping, he said it would be too noisy, but Soldier still thought it would have been easier.

It would have been easier still if Soldier were able to drive himself, but the state of New Mexico didn't seem to think he was an appropriate driving candidate.

Still, they managed to get him to Demo's car undetected, and from there it was a 15 minute drive to town.

He didn't understand why they'd let a one-eyed Scot drive if they wouldn't let _him_.

Engineer had been raving about 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Soldier decided it would be a good movie to watch with Demo. Unfortunately, the movie was entirely beyond his understanding. Demo seemed to enjoy it, for the most part, and that made Soldier happy.

"You didn't like it?" Demo asked, on the drive back to base.

"I didn't get it," Soldier admitted. He felt a little embarrassed. "It seemed real... Philosophifical. And there was science. I don't get science."

Demo laughed. "I didn't get much of it either, don't feel too bad," he reached across the seats to pat Soldier on the knee. "And science isn't for everyone. You're good at what you do." 

"Guess so," Soldier shrugged. He felt a little sorry for himself, still, but he tried not to dwell. He liked to spend time with his new friend, even if it meant seeing a movie that didn't make any sense to him. "You're good at what you do, too."

"Of course! It's in my blood. Learned from me Mum and Dad. I guess I'd call myself a scientist, mixing chemicals and the like. I can hold up a conversation with Engie a good half the time, even, but I'm no genius."

Soldier couldn't ever hold up a conversation with his own team's Engineer, but he liked the idea of having a smart friend. He liked the idea of a lot of things about Demo. He wished they were on the same team, so they could spend more time together without sneaking around. He'd have liked to team up with him on the battlefield, too. He briefly remembered the BLU Demoman, but it just wasn't the same.

 

Over the next several weeks, they found more time to spend together, even sneaking out during the week, at times.

Soldier was sneaking back in late on a Saturday, after a day out seeing the Badland Brawlers play. He'd enjoyed introducing Demo to America's pastime, and ignored Demo's insistance that baseball was boring - he couldn't be blamed for his ignorance of fine American culture, after all.

At this hour, his teammates would have already gone to bed, but when he came into the living room, Spy was there on the couch, and he was clearly waiting for him. Even though Spy was French and sneaky, they were friends. It had taken a while to learn to trust a Frenchman, but after years together on a team, Spy had proven himself surprisingly trustworthy.

"You're back late," Spy said. He sounded suspicious.

"Oh... Yeah. Was at a game."

"You normally invite the team. Seems strange that you'd go to a game without Scout or Engineer." Spy raised his eyebrows. "You've been sneaking around a lot lately."

"Uhh..."

Spy stood from the couch and crossed the room, meeting Soldier at the door. "I am the last person to judge if you're doing anything illicit. I hope you know I'd never report a friend. Don't be a stranger, no?"

Soldier sighed, pulling off his helmet to rub at the back of his head. Spy knew something was up, that perceptive asshole, and Soldier figured he owed him the truth.

"I've got a friend. He's on RED."

"A friend."

"Their Demo. We met at an Expo. He's a good friend." He wanted to say more, but he knew he shouldn't. Spy was his friend, and a good friend at that, but Demo was different.

Spy nodded. "Right. Well. Don't get caught."

He left for bed, and Soldier followed soon after. As he fell asleep, he decided to invite Demo to stay at his apartment, next weekend. Soldier rarely allowed people to know where he lived, let alone stay a night, but his friendship with the Demo was blossoming. He hadn't felt this way about a friend in years - a tickle in his stomach every time he thought about Demo, and a want to just be close.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I have already typed up - the rest are written in a notebook and need to be edited. So my next few chapters might take a while to come out!

The drive to Soldier's apartment was sketchy, to say the least. The small dirt road was crowded in by trees, and considering Soldier's directional skills, Demo wasn't even sure he was in the right spot until he came across what looked like an abandoned apartment building. He had no clue how Soldier even _got_ here without a car. He pulled into one of the parking spots - there was only one other car, that looked nearly broken down. He took two bottles of scrumpy with him and searched out the number.

It was strange, going to the house of a man whose name he didn't know. He had nothing to call him but "Soldier", and that only reminded him of the war, and the danger their friendship presented.

There was a handwritten "no solicitors" sign taped to the cracked and faded walls. He wondered why Soldier lived in such a shabby place, for the amount of money he earned. He knocked on the door, and he heard several locks being turned before the door opened.

The apartment was... A lot of things. It was small. The paint on the bare walls had peeled off in large spaces. There was minimal lighting, and the windows had been boarded shut. There were boxes piled against the walls. The only furniture was two tables and two unmatching chairs. He could see what looked like a small bedroom in the back, but there was no bed, only a floor mat laid out.

Soldier looked embarrassed as he led Demo in. "I know it's a little... Well," he waved a hand, emphasizing the state of the place.

Demo had no idea what to say. He'd known friends to live in conditions like this - hell, he himself had grown up in little more than this, back in Scotland - but Soldier had millions of dollars. He didn't want to offend Soldier, though, by asking the wrong questions.

"No, lad, it's... It's fine."

Soldier pulled out the chairs. He offered the nicer one to Demo. They sat, and Demo glanced around again.

"How do you get here without a car?"

Soldier turned a little pink and looked to the floor, laughing nervously. "Well... I do have a car. I know, I'm not supposed to drive, but I've only crashed it once! I just drive her down to the end of the road so Engie or Spy can pick me up on the way to base. They're the only ones who know where I live. Well, other than you."

"Nobody else?"

"Well, the food delivery people... I try to stay off the map," Soldier was still looking at the floor, and he looked flustered. "I mean, I know this place is a shithole. It was just abandoned and it's hard to find. I like being hard to find."

Demo patted Soldier's shoulder, "Don't be embarrassed. You live the way you like. I don't mind, I came here to see you, not some fancy apartment. It's almost nice, you know, to get away from everything." That much, at least, was true. Being in public with Soldier was always a risk of being caught or seen by somebody apt to tell their employers, much less finding a bar that would let them both in. "So... What do you do for fun, while you're here?"

Soldier shrugged. "Go over battle plans. And I've got some magazines." He got up and went over to a box, pulling it back over to the chairs.

Demo watched as Soldier pulled a stack of magazines out. Most of them were Guns and Haircuts, but there were a few issues of some sports magazines. Demo grabbed one from the stack. It was a professional wrestling magazine.

Soldier saw him looking at the magazine and grinned. "I like to keep up on what's going on. I loved wrestling as a kid. I wanted to be a wrestler. I wrestled in high school, I almost went to college for it, til I dropped out of high school."

"You nearly went to college!" Demo tried to hide his surprise.

Soldier looked flustered again. "Well, only for wrestling... I got offered a scholarship, see."

Demo wanted to laugh, picturing Soldier in college. Instead he threw an arm around him. "That's still an achievement! That's more than I can say, lad."

"Aw... I mean, not really... I wouldn't have even made it past my first year."

"Still!"

Soldier's arm snuck around Demo's waist, and it lasted for a minute before Demo realized that they were definitely cuddling. He froze, for a moment, not sure if Soldier was going to say anything or get upset, but when he didn't, Demo relaxed again.

Soldier started flipping through the wrestling magazine, talking about his childhood heroes, and Demo settled into the embrace, listening to his friend talk.

Later, Soldier ordered ribs, and after they ate they sat on the floor, playing poker and drinking the scrumpy.

"You know," Demo said, after he was well on his way to drunk, "we don't even know each other's names!"

Soldier frowned. "We're not supposed to tell our names to our teammates."

"We're not teammates!"

Soldier laughed, and then looked at him with a little awkward smile. "Well, uh... My name's a little embarrassing."

"So is mine, a bit, at least in America. It's Gaelic. Now, I'm never ashamed of me heritage, but the name is a little old fashioned."

"Yeah?"

"Tavish. Me mum and dad wanted me to have a strong Gaelic name. Tavish Degroot."

"You have to promise not to laugh at mine," Soldier said.

"I promise."

"My name's Jane."

"Well... It's a little unusual."

Soldier laughed. "Jane Doe. I dunno... Dunno if my parents wanted a girl, or what. But it's what I got."

"Jane," Demo tested it on his lips. Maybe it was a girl's name, but of everything he'd learned about Soldier, it wasn't the most unusual.

That night, Soldier let Demo sleep on his mat, and Soldier laid on the floor next to him. By morning, Demo woke with Soldier pressed against his back, snoring into his shoulder blade. It was nice, to wake up to Soldier like that, but he wasn't sure it was the kind of nice Soldier would appreciate. He tried to pull away, but Soldier wrapped an arm around his chest, pulling him in tighter. Demo sighed, somehow not surprised that Soldier was a cuddler.

He was surprised that when Soldier finally woke up, instead of pushing Demo away, he tightened his grip. "Morning," he mumbled, his lips moving against the base of Demo's neck, and Demo tried to ignore how nice it felt.

Soldier got up and went to his mini fridge, pulling out the leftover ribs from the night before. Demo watched him idly, his mind still mulling over what had happened before.

Later, when he left, Soldier hugged him, kissing him on the cheek. "See ya, Tavish," the Soldier mumbled in his ear. The name was odd to hear in a Soldier's voice, but he liked it.

As he drove home he knew he had to think about how his feelings for the Soldier were changing. He wasn't a stranger to having feelings for men, or even relationships with them, but it was risky territory to get into. If he misread Soldier's intentions, it could lead to dire consequences.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support! Solly/Demo is my all-time otp so I'm very happy to see that there are others who appreciate them.
> 
> This chapter was a little harder for me to write so it's a bit shorter, sorry!

After the Demo - no, after Tavish left, Soldier was happy, but he already missed him. He was glad to have a friend he could be physical with again. He enjoyed that special closeness he'd had with a certain men in the past, and he valued a friendship that could grow so close.

Maybe, he thought, he would invite Tavish to stay more often.

 --

 

On Monday, Soldier led his team to battle. After they lost, he hid in a shed, hoping to avoid being killed and having to deal with Respawn. He panicked when he heard footsteps, but instead of an enemy, Tavish entered the shed with a wide smile.

"Thought I saw you in here," he said.

Soldier slid to the floor, pulling off his helmet. Tavish's grenade launcher was still crackling and glowing, but he set it down, sitting across the small shed from Soldier.

"I had fun this weekend, you know," Tavish said. He nudged Soldier's foot with his own.

"Yeah? You wanna come again this weekend? I can steal the projector from base, we could watch a movie."

Tavish laughed and stood, holding a hand out to help Soldier up. Soldier hugged him, kissing him on the cheek before they parted ways.

As he walked back to base, Spy caught up to Soldier.

"You imbecile! You need to be more careful," Spy said, shoving Soldier's shoulder. "I saw you with him. You're going to get caught by someone who cares a lot more than me."

Soldier frowned. Spy was right, but he didn't want to admit that.

"Well, maybe if you stopped sneaking around and snooping," Soldier said.

"I am not the only sneak on this battlefield," Spy snapped, then he composed himself. "I am concerned. You are, for some reason, my friend. I don't care what you do with him off base but if you are caught here, who knows what will happen? I doubt BLU takes kindly to traitors."

"I am NOT a traitor!" Soldier yelled. "He is my friend and I have never once talked battle to him!"

"Do you think our employers will care about the difference?" Spy let his cigarette drop to the ground, and he crushed it with his foot. "Just be careful," he warned again, before walking to his bedroom.

 --

 

Tuesday after battle, Soldier and Tavish ducked into the shed again. Soldier sighed.

"Our Spy saw us here yesterday," he said. Tavish's eyes widened, and Soldier continued. "He won't report us. He already knew I was sneaking around to see you. I told him before."

"You told him? Are you dense, lad?" Tavish was starting to look upset, and Soldier put a hand on his shoulder, trying to soothe him.

"He is my friend."

Tavish sighed, and he reached up to touch Soldier's hand on his shoulder. "Guess we should stop meeting on the field, then?"

"Yeah. But I'll see you Saturday?"

"Of course," Tavish smiled widely. Soldier pulled him into a hug before they parted.

 --

 

Friday, Soldier played poker with his team. He lost badly, as usual, and got drunk. Spy was sober, as he had promised to drive Soldier off base the next morning. He hadn't been planning on leaving base at all, but Soldier had begged him, and he reluctantly agreed.

The rest of the team had gone to bed, and Soldier was sprawled on the couch. Spy was sitting by his head, reading a novel in French.

"You think we're gonna get caught?" Soldier mumbled, the alcohol making him fuzzy and warm and all he wanted to do was think about Tavish.

Spy looked down at him. "Probably."

"What'll happen?" Soldier hiccuped.

"I don't know. I think you need to be careful, so you won't find out."

"He's the best friend I ever had."

"We shouldn't be talking about this here," Spy hissed. Soldier didn't listen.

"You ever have a friend you just... You just wanna kiss him and--" a hand over his mouth stopped him.

"You _really_ shouldn't be talking about this here. The others are not as open minded."

"What? There is nothing more beautiful than the loving friendship between two men!" Soldier waved an arm drunkly in the air.

Spy planted his hand on Soldier's face again. "The others might not quite agree, so _shut up_."

 --

 

Saturday morning, Soldier dragged his mattress and a stolen projector out to Spy's car with him. Spy gave him an incredulous look.

"My friend will NOT be sleeping on the floor any longer!" Soldier yelled as he squeezed the mattress into the back seat. It barely fit.

Spy refused to speak with him the entire car ride over.

 --

 

When Tavish arrived, Soldier greeted him with a hug.

"I have brought you a gift," Soldier announced. He marched inside with Tavish following. He pointed to the bedroom, where the mattress lay out on the floor.

Tavish laughed, pulled Soldier into another quick hug. "You big oaf," he said.

"It's for you to sleep on. I brought it from base."

"But where will you sleep at base?" Tavish shook his head, but he was smiling.

"The floor. It makes no difference to me," Soldier said. "I also brought the projector."

They sat against the wall to watch the films, they were old movies that Soldier had seen a dozen times with his team, but that didn't make a difference to him - he was with Tavish, and that was what mattered.

That night, Demo opened his arms from the mattress, inviting Soldier to sleep up against him. They slept well.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for all the support! I'm so glad people are enjoying this!

It was a Saturday morning, and Demo was at home getting ready to go to Jane's apartment again. It had been three months since they started their affair, or whatever it could be called. His mum was frowning at the kitchen table.

"I wish you'd spend more time working and less time with this friend of yours," she said, tapping her hand on the table for emphasis.

Demo sat across from her. "I'm worth millions, Mum. I have a stable job. A bit of time to relax won't-"

"Do you think your pa and I ever relaxed?!"

"No, Mum."

"There's time to relax when you're dead, boy. The only time you should be relaxing is if it's to find yourself a wife! Keep this family going strong. If only we were back in Scotland, I bet the O'Brien's girl is a fine demowoman these days...Probably already married, though, to someone who actually has jobs!"

Demo bit his tongue. He didn't need to upset his mum with the thought that there may never be a wife. Not with his contract with RED, and not with the way his feelings for Jane were panning out.

Truthfully, he hadn't thought much about what a future with Jane might entail...Or a future for himself, at all. RED paid him well enough that he'd never have to work again, but he wouldn't be happy that way. He liked to work, even if his mum didn't think he liked it enough. He could always take small jobs, work with a destruction company, but he didn't want to think about that. He liked what he did for RED, as strange as the job was. It was constant work and mental stimulation, and the battles were fun. He supposed thinking of war as fun was strange, but once you became used to the immortality, and numb to the terrible deaths, the strategy was fun.

And the immortality was another reason leaving RED scared him. Demo had become accustomed to not fearing death, to taking dangerous risks, to literally killing himself for the sake of getting the job done. What would that mean for him once he retired? Could he trust himself not to slip, and forget he no longer had Respawn?

And as for a future with Jane, too many things scared him. He doubted Jane would ever leave America, and America had not been kind to Demo. Even if they found somewhere that race was not an issue, they would still have to live in secrecy. And, from everything he had learned about RED, he doubted he would ever truly be free of them, and even in retirement, a friendship with a BLU employee might still put him in danger.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He knew, with Jane, that his only option was to live in the present. He had to enjoy what he had, because the odds of losing it were high.

He sighed as he packed his pajamas and alcohol into a bag, heading out the door.  
\--

 

"I've never seen you without your eyepatch," Jane said. For once, they were both sober - after his moment of reflection earlier Demo wanted to enjoy their time clearly. But at Jane's statement, he glanced to his bag, wanting to get the alcohol and down it. He knew Jane meant no harm, but he still tensed.

"I...I don't take it off much," he said. He didn't like to see the reactions, ranging from fetishizing curiosity to disgust. His team had all seen his face once or twice, and it was awkward every time.

But this was Jane. His best friend.

Reluctantly, he reached up to pull the cord away. Soldier watched, his face as unreadable as it ever was.

There were scars - he knew there were, he saw them every time he looked in the mirror. His eyelids were adhered entirely, leaving an empty socket beneath.

Merasmus had magically healed the wound enough that the young Tavish's life was not at risk, but not enough to make it pretty. His parents could not afford medical care, but had enough professional knowledge to rudimentally treat eye trauma. He had been left with scars, pale and hardened streaks across what had once been an eyelid.

Jane didn't wince, but he scooted closer. He lifted a hand, looking to Demo's intact eye. "Can I-" Demo nodded before Jane could say more.

Jane touched his face, fingers stroking around the area, as careful and gentle as Demo had ever seen Jane be. It was unnerving, to have someone touch your face and not be able to see what they were doing, but Jane's touch was tender - at least as tender as a Soldier's could be.

His hand lowered until he was cupping Demo's cheek. "Thanks," he grunted. Demo wanted to kiss him.

With a moment's hesitation, he did.

He was relieved when Jane didn't push him away, and instead kissed him back. Jane was a strange man to kiss, and he wasn't very good at it, but Demo hoped there would be enough kisses to teach him better.

The kiss was short, and Jane was flushed pink when they parted.

"...Thanks," Jane said again.

"Any time," Demo laughed, trying to play off any embarrassment or nerves he felt.

They didn't drink at all that night, but there were several more kisses.

At night, there was no awkwardness when Jane curled up next to him. Demo wrapped an arm around him, kissing his forehead before they drifted off.

In the morning, he left Jane with a final kiss, with plans to meet midweek for an ill-advised trip to the drive in.  
\--

 

Demo was giddy by the time he arrived at base. Engie sat next to him at the dinner table.

"You look like you met a girl," he said, nudging Demo in the side.

"Yeah," Demo smiled to himself.

"Thought you were spending the weekend with your buddy again," Sniper interjected, sitting down across from them.

"Oh... Yeah, we met up with some ladies."

"Well..." Engie pressed on, looking for details.

"Dunnae what to tell you. She's my kind of woman. Likes explosives and booze."

"You found that kind of woman here?" Scout yelled from across the table. "Yo, it wasn't Miss P, was it, cause you know I've been planning to ask her out!"

Demo laughed, "Nah, don't worry lad. She's not from around here. She's in town for a while. But don't even think I'm going to introduce her to you sorry lot. Keep work and personal separate, aye?"

His team didn't seem suspicious, after that, but now that he'd invented the lie he'd have to keep up with it. He glanced out the window toward BLU's base, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit longer of a chapter! I'm also probably going to add more chapters in, so this fic will probably be a bit longer than originally planned :)

Soldier was a happy man, these days. Tavish made him happy. He had had friends like Tavish, before, but he had never felt quite the same way as he did now.

His happiness showed even on the battlefield, where he was doing exceptionally well lately. His rockets were all hitting their targets straight on, even to Tavish, although he always mumbled an apology after killing his best friend.

It was weird, of course, to fight against him, now that they were pals. But Soldier never let his friendship get in the way of work - the art of war was too important to him. Battle was the one place Soldier felt remotely intelligent - he was, of course, the team leader, and the one coming up with most of their battle plans. Soldier was a fighter, it was who he was. He offered Tavish no mercy, and Tavish gave him the same treatment in turn. It didn't affect their off-battle friendship in the slightest.

And that friendship made Soldier feel like a million bucks. He spent a lot of time thinking about Tavish. Especially after the last weekend, when they kissed. He spent a lot of time thinking about those kisses, and how badly he wanted to do it again, and how badly he wanted to do more.

It had been a long time since he'd had a friend like this, since before joining BLU. It was something he badly missed.

It was Wednesday. BLU had lost, but Soldier was in good spirits. He was going to meet Tavish outside of town, and they were going to see a movie together. As he whistled his way out the door, Spy stopped him, the snooping bastard.

"So," Spy said. "Where are you headed?"

"Out," Soldier grunted, continuing toward the exit. "That's all you need to know, private."

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. "You seem happy lately," Spy said.

"I am."

"I hope it stays that way." Spy sounded... Sincere.

Soldier didn't know what to make of that, so he turned and looked at Spy under his helmet. Spy gave a small smile before turning to leave. Soldier watched him for a moment before turning back toward his goal.

He walked a mile off base, before arriving at the lonely gas station that served the mercs. Tavish was there waiting. Jane wanted to kiss him, but the gas station attendant was sitting right there, and some things were meant for private.

Tavish drove them to the city where there was a drive-in. They crawled into the backseat to watch the film, but Soldier barely paid attention. They weren't quite cuddling, not in public, but Tavish had an arm over Soldier's shoulders. 

After the movie ended, they stayed in the parking lot, still huddled in the backseat, just talking and enjoying one another's company.

"Hey," Tavish said, after a moment of silence. "I have a surprise. For this weekend."

"Yeah?"

"I bought me mum a plane ticket to Scotland. I got the mansion to meself this weekend," he squeezed Soldier around the shoulders.

Soldier frowned. "Oh. So you want to stay there and enjoy it. I understand."

Tavish laughed. "No, ye daft pig, I want you to stay with me."

Soldier felt his spirits rise back up. "Really?" Tavish had told him about the mansion, but he never thought he'd be able to visit it. His apartment just seemed safer, more off the grid, but he was welcome to the idea of visiting the mansion once in a while.  
\--

 

That Saturday, Soldier and Tavish met at the gas station again, and Tavish drove them the distance to the mansion.

The mansion was impression - the sort of thing Soldier could have afforded, if he weren't so invested in his paranoia.

For once in his life Soldier felt as clumsy and awkward as he was, in the house full of old symbols of heritage of a person he cared about. He was afraid to touch anything, lest he break it.

Tavish took him on a tour, starting with the kitchen (the most important room), through the living room, the various spare rooms full of relics, the lab for building bombs, and finally down a hallway upstairs.

"And here are the bedrooms," Tavish announced. "The big one is me mum's. Don't go in there. We got the guest room here," Tavish pointed to it. "Or...You could share my bed."

Soldier shrugged. "Whatever. I'm not picky."

Tavish frowned and looked a bit hurt. Soldier considered the question again. " _Oh_ ," he said, after a second. "I like being with you."

Tavish laughed, "You are a big ogre sometimes."

Soldier had no idea what Tavish meant by that, but he looked happy. Tavish took his hand and led him into a room. "This one's mine," Tavish said. He sat on the bed, pulling Soldier down next to him. Soldier felt his insides tingling as Tavish leaned in to kiss him. Tavish was nice to kiss. His lips were rough and commanding.

Soldier wasn't the brightest man, not by a long shot. But Tavish was kissing him here on his bed, and had very pointedly wanted to share that bed tonight. Sure, they slept in the same bed every week - but something about this felt different. And that excited Soldier.

Soldier moved a hand to Tavish's knee, and he felt Tavish smile against his lips before pulling away. He was flushed red. "Heh, let's finish the tour first, aye? We got all the time in the world, tonight."

Tavish stood and took Soldier's hand, leading him back downstairs. They arrived at a large basement, set up as an entire bar.

"This is my party room. It's a shame, don't have any chance to use this place, with the restrictions RED's put on my social life. Guess I could've had the team over while mum was away, but...I like you better."

Soldier smiled and watched as Tavish went behind the bar to get drinks. Tavish looked truly at home here, hosting, even if Soldier was the only guest.

"My team," Tavish said, after they were well on the way to drunk, "thinks I'm with a girl. They saw me grinnin' ear to ear last weekend after kissin' ya and I had to make up a lie."

Soldier felt a bit jealous at the thought of Tavish with a girl, but he said nothing and let Tavish continue.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I love the company of a fine woman. But," he took a shot, "a man's company suits me just as well."

Soldier didn't really understand what Tavish was talking about, but he nodded anyway. Soldier had never even thought about dating women. All he needed was ribs, battle, and the occasional friendly fuck with another man. He just accepted it as one of the many ways he was different.

The two played pool for a while, getting progressively drunker. They talked freely, perhaps more freely than they should have, laughing about things that had happened at work.

"So," Tavish slurred, after a moment of silence. "You've never told me about your days in the army."

Soldier flushed a deep pink. Crap. He briefly considered lying, like he had to his team, but this was _Tavish_.

"I, uh.... Was never actually in the army," he coughed, grabbing another shot of whisky. "Do not tell a soul!" He commanded before downing the alcohol.

He certainly wasn't expecting Tavish to _laugh_.

"Oh, boyo, you are one hell of a man. Why the lie?"

"I had to! My team wouldn't take me seriously if they knew I was a.... A _civilian_ ," the word was bitter on his tongue. "I love this country! I would have fought for it if they'd let me!" Soldier downed another shot.

"But where did you learn explosives, then?"

"After high school I was a miner for a while. Well, a couple weeks. Got fired for being unsafe or whatever. That's when I applied for the army. But they turned me away! I did go to Europe a while, after that, killed some bad men on my own. When I came back to good old America, I got hired to blow things up by someone I'd known at school. Blowing up things people didn't want found. BLU had connections with them, and they needed a Soldier. I always wanted to be one. Can't believe the Army turned me away...Not mentally sound my rear! That's what everyone seems to say about me!"

Tavish gripped Soldier's hand, holding it on the table. "Well, none of that matters to me. Not like I've got much room to talk, meself, about being mentally sound, eh? I love ya, lad."

"Love you too, Tav," Soldier replied. He grinned up at Tavish. He felt that his secret was safe.  
\--

The more he drank, the more Soldier wanted to kiss Tavish, but his libido got progressively lower as well. He eventually gave in to his urges, grabbing Tavish and kissing him against the pool table. It was sloppy and drunk and Tavish kissed him back anyway; he liked that about Tavish. Tavish never cared how clumsy Soldier was.

Tavish dragged Soldier over to the couch, where he tripped over the arm, and the two stumbled over, Soldier landing on top of Tavish, both of them laughing.

"You're the best pal I ever had," Soldier said, his drunken laughs dying down. He rested his head on Tavish's chest.

"You too, mate," Tavish replied. He idly stroked Soldier's back.

There were a lot of things Soldier wanted to do with Tavish, but right now, as drunk as he was, he wanted to just lay with him, snuggled in his arms. They'd get to that other stuff later.

"Tav," Jane whispered, although it was a loud, drunk whisper.

"Hmm?"

"I got whisky dick."

Tavish laughed loudly. "Me too, lad!"

They laid for a while. When Soldier heard the snore above him, he smiled, and let himself drift off as well.  
\--

 

Soldier woke to Tavish struggling under him. He tried to shift to let Tavish up, but instead he rolled right off the couch. Tavish laughed above him. The lights were still on and blaring brightly.

"Sorry, I have to piss," Tavish said. "I was trying not to wake you... I'm drunk," he stumbled off the couch, making his way to the bathroom.

Soldier was still on the floor when Tavish came back. Tavish held a hand to help him up.

"Let's pass out in bed," Tavish mumbled, rubbing his head with his free hand as Soldier stood up.

They made it to Tavish's bed, exchanging a few sloppy kisses along the way. Soldier would have loved to have done more, but he was starting to get a headache, and Tavish looked just as miserable.

Tavish's bed was soft, and it felt like heaven. He fell asleep almost instantly, wrapped around Tavish in a hug.


End file.
